1. Field of the Invention
This invention is generally directed to a liner insert for a pickup truck cargo bed. More particularly, to an insert liner combining the features of a protective bed liner and a storage chest into one assembly. The liner insert is unitarily formed and is adapted to receive an independently formed chest lid which is hingedly attached and lockably secured to the liner insert for the purpose of providing a secure storage chest.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Pickup truck vehicles are used for both work related activities and personal transportation. The pickup truck bed provides space for both work related and personal cargo. In order to prevent cargo from damaging the painted metal surface of the truck bed it may be desirable to insert a protective liner into the pickup truck bed.
There are several prior art devices that discloses a protective truck bed liner insert. Some of these include U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,814,473 to Lorenzen, 3,881,768 to Nix, 4,111,481 to Nix et al, 4,333,678 to Munuz et al, 4,336,863 to Nix et al, 4,341,412 to Wayne, 4,540,214 to Wagner, 4,572,568 to Kapp et al, 4,575,146 to Markos, 4,592,583 to Oresen et al and 4,872,720 to Nagy.
Work related and personal cargo can be stored inside the truck bed. An open truck bed does not provide cargo with protection against damaging weather, environmental exposure, theft or vandalism. It may be desirable to secure cargo within auxiliary storage devices, such as those disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,404,484 to Schoomaker, 3,640,423 to Parker et al, 3,854,621 to Parry, 3,987,829 to Leone, 4,266,950 to Gillet, U.S. Pat. Nos. Des. 259,413 to Renkopf, 258,950 to Wright, 285,673 to Waters, and French Patent No. 298,626.
There are still other prior art devices that discloses assemblies which may be placed upon the truck bed for cargo storage. These include U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,784,027 to Temp, 3,405,999 to Kozicki, 3,727,971 to Sisler, 4,003,595 to Robertson, 4,288,011 to Grossman, and U.S. Pat. No. Des. 248,386 to Hefner.
When it is desirable to provide protection for cargo within the truck bed, it is also possible to use a truck bed canopy, of which U.S. Pat. No. 4,627,655 to Collins is an example. Alternatively, it is also possible to install a tonneau cover such as that disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,762,360 to Huber.
None of the above prior art references suggest combining into one assembly a protective liner and a storage chest. Such a combined truck bed liner and tool compartment is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. Des. 271,009, this device has several limitations which the present invention successfully overcomes.
In FIGS. 4 and 5 of Fishler the right and left liner and compartment walls rise perpendicularly from the liner floor and compartment bottom. With this arrangement, a number of the Fishler devices can not be nested for economical storage and shipping. The vertical side walls of the Fishler device also create difficult Thermoform Molding conditions which may not be overcome by conventional forming methods.
As seen in FIG. 1 of Fishler, there is a compartment lid which extends over the opposed truck bed side rails. This arrangment interfaces with accessories that may otherwise be attached to the truck bed rails. A compartment lid, such as the one disclosed by Fishler, which has a width equal to or greater than the distance between the side walls at the front wall, also interferes with the installation of a protective roll-bar assembly of the type shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,202,579 to Berggren.
The present invention is an improvement over the Fishler combination as well as the other prior art devices referenced. It is in the details of construction, utility and other added features of the present invention that there is found uniqueness and novelty.